Army Progress In Bid To Identify WW1 Remains

The
Australian Army has made considerable progress in its
efforts to identify six World War 1 Australian soldiers
whose remains were discovered in Belgium during pipeline
excavation works in August 2006 the Minister Assisting the
Minister for Defence Bruce Billson said today.

Military
research has revealed that the site where the remains were
unearthed, on the Western Front near the hamlet Westhoeck,
was a temporary burial ground for Australian soldiers killed
in a series of 1917 battles known as the Third Battle of
Ypres. These battles are popularly known as the Battle of
Paschendaele.

“In the immediate post-war period, teams
of soldiers exhumed bodies from the temporary cemeteries and
they were re-interred in the permanent war cemeteries which
today dot the sites of the great Western Front battles.
While the recovery operations were thorough and
comprehensive, not all remains were recovered,” Mr Billson
said. ᾠ

It is believed the remains found near Westhoeck
may have been missed by the clearance teams, as they had
been buried near a road which was subsequently re-routed
over the gravesites before the clearance teams arrived.
Initially it was believed that there were five sets of
remains, but some additional bones were uncovered that
belonged to a sixth individual.

Military research has
identified seven Australian soldiers who were buried in this
area, but who were not later exhumed for reinterment. They
are Second Lieutenant L. J. Corrigan, 22nd Australian
Infantry Battalion; 3233 Private J. A. Gibbens, 29th
Australian Infantry Battalion; 3504 Private J. Hunter, 49th
Australian Infantry Battalion; 4171 Sgt C. N. McArthur, 48th
Australian Infantry Battalion; 1868 Sergeant G. Calder, 2488
Private G. R. Storey and 4931 Private W. Williams of the
51st Australian Infantry Battalion.

“It is far too
early to say whether the remains discovered belong to any of
the soldiers identified through the military research and it
must be stressed, that despite the progress to date, the
prospects of formally identifying individuals remain quite
low,” Mr Billson said.

“The Army is now awaiting the
results of a scientific investigation carried out by the
Belgian authorities on the remains to see if further
insights can be gained into physical characteristics,
including evidence of wounds and other injuries, as well as
dental characteristics . They will also advise on the
likelihood of extractingᾠDNA material for possible
comparisons with any surviving ancestors, he said.

If
all goes to plan we would like to be in a position to lay
the remains permanently to rest with full military honours
in a military cemetery in Belgium to coincide with the 90th
anniversary of the Battle Paschendaele in October this
year.”

Descendants of those soldiers named who would
like further information about the investigation are
encouraged to contact the head of the Army History Unit,
Roger Lee on 02 6266
2204.

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